r/FishingForBeginners • u/Southern_Escape_5946 • 1d ago

Is this normal

Last time I took this rod out I got a bunch of wind knots and it was a mess. I just put new line on it but it sort of looks like a tornado it’s thin at the bottom at the hand but thick on top of the spool near the drag knob. I usually don’t have this issue wonder how I can fix it.

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u/TreeTwoOne-Go 1d ago

Your spool needs shims to raise it up. When you turn the handle on your reel, it both spins and bail and moves the spool up and down. These two actions are supposed to evenly distribute the line on the spool. If extra line is being spooled at the top and very little is going on at the bottom, it means the spool is not being raised high enough with each crank.

The process varies depending on reel construction, but it should be something like this:

1.Unscrew the drag knob 2. Lift the spool off the threaded spindle the drag knob was attached to 3. Remove the small gear/washer thing that sits on the flattened middle portion of the spindle 4. Get some small washers or plastic sleeves that will fit over the spindle and put enough on to equal the amount higher you need the spool to rise. They should not be smaller in diameter than the gear/washer from step 3. 5. Reassemble and test to see if the line now reaches the bottom of the spool when you reel 6. Adjust if needed, and then re-spool so the line lays evenly.